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HISTORISK TIDSKRIFT (Sweden) HISTORISK TIDSKRIFT (Sweden) 135:2 • 2015 Kungalängder och historieskrivning Fornsvenska och fornisländska källor om Sveriges historia daniel sävBorg Tartu universitet I artikeln undersöks 1200-talets historieskrivning om Sveriges historia genom att analysera de svenska och isländska listorna över svenska kungar. Författaren häv- dar att de isländska längderna är oberoende av de svenska och i stället ytterst bygger på en isländsk muntlig tradition om svensk historia. Denna tradition un- dersöks här med hjälp av två verk, Yngvars saga och Skáldatal, där information om Sveriges 1000-tals och 1100-talshistoria har traderats muntligt utan svenska skrivna källor. I förhållande till forskningen om svensk medeltidshistoria har forsk- ningen kring den medeltida historieskrivningen i Sverige varit betydligt mindre framträdande. Det enda omfattande arbetet hittills är Sture Bolins Om Nordens äldsta historieforskning: Studier över dess metodik och källvärde från 1931, som grundligt behandlade den medeltida historie- skrivningen om Sveriges historia. En viktig del av undersökningarna handlade om de svenska kungalängderna. Bolin analyserade bland annat relationen mellan de svenska kungalängderna av Uppsalatyp och deras uppgifter å ena sidan och uppgifterna i ett par isländska medeltida verk å andra sidan. Senare forskare har nämnt dessa frågor och undersökningar ibland,1 men varken kungalängderna av Uppsalatyp eller frågan om relationen Artikeln har granskats av två externa lektörer enligt modellen double blind peer review. 1. T.ex. Henrik Janson, ”Kring kungakrönikan i Hervararsaga”, i Stina Hansson & Mats Malm (red.), Gudar på jorden: Festskrift till Lars Lönnroth (Stockholm 2000). Daniel Sävborg (f. 1965) är professor i skandinavistik vid Department of Scandinavian Studies, Tartu universitet, Estland. Sävborg disputerade i litteraturvetenskap vid Stockholms univer- sitet 1997. Av hans senare publikationer kan nämnas Sagan om kärleken: Erotik, känslor och berättarkonst i norrön litteratur (2007) och “Snorra Edda and the Uppsala Edda”, i Heinrich Beck (red.), Snorri Sturluson – Historiker, Dichter, Politiker (2013). E-post: [email protected] historisk tidskrift 135:2 • 2015 202 daniel sävBorg mellan den isländska och den svenska historieskrivningen om Sveriges forn- och medeltid har upptagit forskningen nämnvärt. Det ändrades när Christian Lovén år 2012 gav ut Historieskrivning vid Uppsala dom- kyrka under högmedeltiden: Handskriften UUB C 92 och dess källor. Här diskuteras utförligt kungalängderna av Uppsalatyp, och frågan om rela- tionen till de isländska verken är central. Föreliggande artikel är starkt inspirerad av Lovéns bok och vill ta upp den diskussion han startat. På flera punkter kan Lovén ovedersägligen komma längre än Bolin och visa på nya, hållbara slutsatser. På andra punkter har hans bok i stället stimu- lerat till ifrågasättanden. Undersökningens huvudfrågor är följande: • I vilket slags relation står de svenska och de isländska listorna över svenska kungar till varandra? Finns alls något beroende mellan de isländska och svenska skriftliga källorna? Om ett beroende finns, åt vilket håll går inflytandet – har de svenska källorna påverkat de is- ländska eller de isländska påverkat de svenska? • Vilka källor om Sveriges historia hade de isländska historieskrivarna under 1100- och 1200-talen? De svenska källorna Den idag mest kända kungalängden från svensk medeltid är den kortfat- tade kungakrönika som återfinns i Cod. Holm. B 59 som bilaga till Äldre Västgötalagen (härefter: Västgötakrönikan). Detta avsnitt av handskrif- ten har skrivits cirka 1320, men krönikan dateras till 1240-talet med hän- visning till de sista omnämnda kungarna.2 Detta är dock inte den enda kungalängden från svensk medeltid, inte heller den tidigast belagda. Den handskriftligt tidigast belagda svenska kungalängden möter vi i handskrift Cod. Ups. C70. Det är en av fem representanter för den så kallade Uppsalatypen av kungalängd.3 Typen och de fem versionernas relation till varandra har utretts av Sture Bolin. Det handlar om följande fem handskrifter: 2. Per-Axel Wiktorsson, Äldre Västgötalagen och dess bilagor i Cod. Holm. B 59, vol. 1 (Skara 2011) s. 15. 3. Sture Bolin, Om Nordens äldsta historieskrivning: Studier över dess metodik och källvärde (Lund 1931) s. 169 kallar längden i C70 för Uppsalalängden och de övriga fyra, med denna befryndade, för Uppsala-typ. historisk tidskrift 135:2 • 2015 kUngalängder och historieskrivning 203 • Cod. Ups. C70 från cirka 1260 • Cod. Ups. C92 från 1290 • Cod. Sax. A182 från 1300-talets slut • Cod. Ups. C15 från 1300-talets slut • Cod. Holm. B17 från andra hälften av 1400-talet4 De fyra första längderna är på latin, den sista på svenska. De fem längderna återgår alla på samma arketyp som har slutat med Valdemar och som tillkommit kort efter dennes trontillträde 1250.5 Kungalängden fram till Valdemar är vad gäller namn och ordningsföljd densamma i C70, C92, A182 och B17;6 C15 har några avvikelser7 men överensstämmer i stort med de övriga längderna av Uppsalatyp mot Västgötakrönikan och dess mer tydligt avvikande tradition. Enstaka faktauppgifter om kungarnas verksamhet och död förekommer i några handskrifter och saknas i andra – om Olof skötkonungs dop, Erik den heliges martyrskap, Kols dödsort och Valdemars kröning – men skill- naderna är inte stora och det är oftast relativt klart vad som är tillägg respektive strykning i relation till arketypen. Av större vikt är några extrauppgifter i C92 om kungarnas härstamning, något som kommer att diskuteras utförligt längre fram i artikeln. När det gäller relationen mellan de fem versionerna synes det stå klart att ingen av handskrifterna är en avskrift av någon av de andra. C70 har skrivits redan cirka 1260, det vill säga mycket kort efter tillkomsten av arketypen, men också den är alltså en avskrift och utgör inte förlaga till de övriga. Den saknar bland annat uppgiften om Olof skötkonungs dop som är gemensam för C92, A182 och B17. Nedan kommer jag, när inte annat anges, att låta kungalängden i C70 representera Uppsalatypen. Precis som i Västgötakrönikan inleds kungalängden av Uppsalatyp med Olof skötkonung, den förste kristne kungen. Delvis är det samma kungar som möter i Uppsalatypen och Västgötakrönikan, men det finns 4. För dateringarna, se Bolin (1931) s. 161 samt Lovén (2012) s. 56, 60. 5. Bolin (1931) s. 167. 6. Sverker d.ä. kallas dock ”Sueno senior” i C70 – att jämföra med ”swercho” (C92), ”swer- co” (A182), ”swerke” (B17) respektive ”Swerkerus” (C15) i de övriga – men detta är uppenbart en felläsning eller felskrivning. Man kan notera beteckningen ”senior” som förutsätter en senare kung med samma namn, d.v.s. Sverker Karlsson, medan någon senare Sven helt saknas. I A182 kallas Erik den helige ”Henricus”, men detta kan ses som en variantform av Eriks namn. 7. Näskonung, Filip och Inge d.y. saknas; Knut långe (här kallad ”Kanutus joansson”) tillkommer och Erik Eriksson förtecknas två gånger. historisk tidskrift 135:2 • 2015 204 daniel sävBorg också påtagliga skillnader. Uppsalatypen saknar Västgötakrönikans Emund kolbränna, Emund slemme och Burislef, medan den i gengäld förtecknar ett par kungar som är okända i Västgötakrönikan: Näsko- nung och Sveno ydolatra/Sven blodkarl. Skillnaderna mellan Uppsalatypen och Västgötakrönikan är alltså markanta och det står klart att de representerar två olika traditioner. Bolin betonar mycket riktigt med hänvisning till de stora avvikelserna gentemot Västgötakrönikan att denna inte kan vara Uppsalatypens käl- la.8 Han tänker sig visserligen möjligheten av enstaka influenser från den skrivna Västgötakrönikan redan i Uppsalatypens arketyp, med hänvisning till att båda nämner Olofs och Håkans tillnamn, att båda kallar Sverker den äldres far Cornube och att båda startar längden med Olof skötkonung9, men Lovén har med goda skäl argumenterat mot ett sådant inflytande.10 Att det rör sig om två skilda traditioner har dock ingen ifrågasatt. De isländska källorna Langfeðgatal är en isländsk samling kungalängder för Sverige, Norge och Danmark. Den äldsta version vi känner stod i en handskrift expli- cit daterad till 1254 av skrivaren själv.11 Listan över de svenska kungarna sträcker sig från Ragnar lodbrok till Erik Eriksson (kung 1222–1250).12 Den senares trontillträde 1222 utgör denna källas terminus post quem och den ursprungliga handskriftens tillkomst 1254 dess terminus ante quem. I denna kungalängd finns ett antal namn vi känner från både Upp- salatypen och Västgötakrönikan: Olof, Stenkil, Håkan, Hallsten, Inge den äldre, Filip, Inge den yngre, Ragnvald, Sverker den äldre, Erik den helige, Magnus Henriksson, Karl Sverkersson, Knut Eriksson, Sverker den yngre, Erik Knutsson och Johan Sverkersson. Langfeðgatal över- ensstämmer med Uppsalatypen mot Västgötakrönikan genom före- komsten av en hednisk kung Sven (Blót-Sveinn/Sveno ydolatra), genom 8. Bolin (1931) s. 171. 9. Bolin (1931) s. 172. 10. Lovén (2012) s. 65. 11. Handskriften är förlorad och är idag bevarad genom Árni Magnússons avskrift i AM 1eβII fol. Detta påvisades av Lovén (2012) s. 60, som därmed kunde föra dateringen av denna kungalängd bakåt i tiden. Den dittills använda handskriften, AM 415 4to, dateras till ca 1300. 12. I versionen i AM 415 4to från ca 1300 tillfogas även Valdemar Birgersson, Magnus Birgersson och Birger Magnusson efter Kr. Kålund (utg.), Alfræði íslenzk III (1917–1918), s. 57, vilket visar att listorna om möjligt uppdaterades vid avskrift. historisk tidskrift 135:2 • 2015 kUngalängder och historieskrivning 205 placeringen av Stenkil före Håkan
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